“Why does Bennington have one of the highest MS rates in the world?”

Why does Bennington have one of the highest MS rates in the world? We don’t know, but we can read the maps that show it to be true. Studies of epidemiologic trends have established that the highest incidence of MS rests firmly at this latitude, 40 degrees or greater, throughout much of the industrialized world. If you’re born in northern Wisconsin, or in the Scottish Highlands, or in New Zealand at latitude that’s 40 degrees or more from the equator, your likelihood of developing MS is strikingly similar to that of people born in Bennington, Vermont.[3]

“If you’re born in northern Wisconsin …” isn’t quite right. The data suggest that you are in good shape if you move to the land of sun and fun early and at risk if you move the opposite direction.

Okay, dataman, I can hear you saying, “Oh, yeah? Where’s the cite? Huh?” (Actually, based on what I read, you have much more couth than that, but still…..)

Well, this is lame; I can’t find, or more correctly, am too lazy to find, the relevant studies, so I will quote from a site. Not just any site, mind you, but the well regarded UCSF Dept of Neurology:

“Individuals who are born in high-risk areas appear to acquire a lower risk if they relocate and establish residence in low-risk areas before age 15 years. In contrast, individuals born in low-risk areas may acquire a higher risk if they move and establish residence in a high-risk area before age 15 years.”